


The Spirit of Christmas

by eleanorandtahani



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Eventual Romance, F/F, Slow Burn, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 21:17:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12873216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eleanorandtahani/pseuds/eleanorandtahani
Summary: Can someone please write a Christmas Good Place AU where Tahani dies and because she was not quite good on Earth she has to help a human by Christmas to earn her place in heaven? And that human is an Arizona dirtbag who hates Christmas and wants exactly none of her help?With the fate of her soul hanging in the balance, Tahani Al-Jamil is given an assignment: transform Eleanor Shellstrop into a better person by Christmas.





	The Spirit of Christmas

“Excuse me, where am I?”

 

A room stretches before her, having no visible end beyond bright white light. There are rows and rows of desks made of a silvery white metal with a bluish tinge. Every desk is empty, except for one.

 

“This is the in-between, Tahani,” an old man with a bow tie gestured to the seat in front of his desk, “Please, have a seat.”

 

“Why am I here? The last thing I remember, I was about to go to an interview...” Tahani’s voice trailed off. “ _Oh_.”

 

“You’re dead, Tahani,” the man confirmed her suspicions. “My name is Michael, and I’m your case manager.”

 

“My case manager? Whatever for?”

 

“Throughout your life, your actions had a very positive impact on the world around you.” Tahani flipped her hair and flashed a smug smile. “However, your heart was never in the right place. You didn’t truly care for the people you were helping.”

 

“How dare you?” Tahani stood in outrage, “I raised millions of dollars for charity.”

 

“Which charities?” Michael cut her off. “Who did you help?”

 

“Well, I-- I helped-- does it even really matter?” Tahani sat back down with a huff. “The point is that I did help people.”

 

“Which is why we haven’t sent you directly to the Bad Place. The Good Place and the Bad Place reached a compromise. We are going to send you back to Earth,” Michael revealed.

 

“Why?”

 

“If you can genuinely help one person turn their life around, then you will prove yourself worthy of going to the Good Place.”

 

“That’ll be easy!” Tahani said, relieved. “I’ll help my dear friend, Taylor Swift, to be less of a fashion don’t with her silly backwards sweaters!”

 

“I’m afraid that’s not how it works, Tahani. We have already chosen someone for you to help.” Michael pulled out a file, “Eleanor Shellstrop, Phoenix, Arizona.”

 

Tahani opened up the file and looked at Eleanor’s picture, “Well, she’s not too unfortunate looking. I’m sure I can save her fashion sense as well.”

 

Michael shook his head, somewhat fondly, “You have to help her become a better person. Whether or not that includes her fashion sense is up to you, but it still shouldn’t be your primary goal.” Then he called out, “Janet!”

 

Out of nowhere, a voice behind Tahani said, “How can I help you?”

 

Tahani jumped, and then immediately tried to regain her air of unaffected calm, and asked, “Where did you come from? Who are you?”

 

“This is Janet,” Michael introduced. “The information assistant here. She will tell you about your capabilities on earth, since I have a meeting about my plan for neighborhood 1358W.”

 

“I came from my void,” Janet added.

 

“Oh, you live in a void.” The absurdity of her current situation occurred to Tahani, “I need to sit down for a moment.”

 

“You can rest for a moment, but you really need to go back to earth as soon as possible.”

 

“Why’s that?”

 

“There’s one thing the Bad Place wouldn’t compromise on,” Michael said. “Your deadline to turn Eleanor Shellstrop into a good person is Christmas.”

 

* * *

 

Despite her tendency for abrupt appearances, Janet was really growing on Tahani.

 

“So, an important thing to remember is that no one who’s alive will be able to see or hear you except for Eleanor. You will be capable of interacting with the living world through touch if you focus enough,” Janet explained.

 

“Who _is_ Eleanor?” Tahani asked. “I mean, what exactly am I getting myself into?”

 

“Here’s our file on Eleanor Shellstrop,” Janet reached out and handed Tahani a cactus.

 

“How am I meant to read this? Do files work differently in the in-between? Oh, have you eliminated reading and touching this plant will instantly download all of the information it contains?” Tahani reached a finger out to touch the cactus and unintentionally pricked her finger. “Ow!”

 

“No, I’ve been rebooted recently. Whenever that happens, the filing system becomes extremely disorganized. However, since I am the vessel of all knowledge, I can still answer any questions you have about Eleanor Shellstrop.”

 

“Where does she live?”

 

Janet replied, “Phoenix, Arizona.”

 

“Isn’t it rather hot there? Sweat can ruin easily ruin a hairdo,” Tahani’s face scrunched slightly.

 

“Since you won’t be alive, you will have control over your appearance, as long as you do not attempt to impersonate a different person.”

 

“That’s _marvelous_ ,” Tahani clapped her hands together.

 

“So, what does Eleanor Shellstop do-”

 

Janet interjects, “Strop.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Her name is Eleanor Shell _strop_.”

 

“Oh, well, what does she do for a living?”

 

“She works in sales.”

 

“That’s not too bad of a career, it must take a certain degree of charisma and charm,” Tahani reflected. “Why does she need to change?”

 

“I’m not permitted to answer that question.”

 

“Whyever not?” Tahani exclaimed indignantly. “I thought you were supposed to be on my side, and that’s very important for me to know.”

 

“To complete your assignment, you need to genuinely care about helping Eleanor Shellstrop. You have the greatest chance of success if you discover why she needs your help yourself.”

 

“I suppose that does make some sense.” Tahani’s eyes widened, “Wait, what day is it today? I only have until Christmas, right?”

 

“It’s November 15th.”

 

“That gives me barely any time at all!” Tahani frowned, “How soon can I start?”

 

“You can begin right now, if you wish,” Janet replied to Tahani’s relief. “However, there is one more important thing that I must tell you before you go.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“You cannot tell Eleanor the consequence you will face if you do not succeed. If she knows, she will change out of guilt, not because she was inspired to be better, and you will have failed.”

 

Tahani nodded, then blinked.

 

By the time she opened her eyes again, her surroundings had changed. In front of her was a dark wooden door. She steeled herself and then knocked on it.

 

* * *

 

Eleanor was getting ready to leave when she heard a sudden pounding on her door.

 

With one shoe dangling from her hand while trying to put on her earrings, Eleanor hobbled as fast as she could to her door as possible while wearing a single heel.

 

Eleanor swung the door open after freeing one of her hands. “Why the fuck are you trying to break down my door?”

 

“Hello, my name is Tahani Al-Jamil, and I’m here to help you become a better person,” the stranger said with a snooty British accent and a condescending smile.

 

“Listen, lady, I’m not buying whatever you’re selling.” Eleanor continued to put on her earrings. “If it’s beauty products, I’m hot enough already. If you’re trying to convert me, I couldn’t care less. I don’t believe in anything and I’m totally cool with not getting into heaven. I don’t vote, so you can keep any pamphlets.”

 

As Eleanor began to close the door, Tahani shouted, “Wait! Give me a moment to explain-”

 

“No can do,” Eleanor bent over to put on her other shoe. “I have to leave early for drinks, otherwise my coworkers will try to make me the designated driver again.” Eleanor grinned to herself, “And I got a real great loophole in the works!”

 

“If you won’t let me explain here, will you allow me to accompany you for.. ‘drinks’?” Tahani attempted to compromise.

 

“ _Will you allow me to accompany you for drinks_?” Eleanor mocked. “I’m going out to have _fun_ , not listen to some out-of-touch asshole lecture me about morality.”

 

Tahani reached forward while Eleanor closed the door, but her hand did not stop when it met the closed door. It passed through as it would pass through air. Tahani stepped forward, reuniting with a shocked and frozen Eleanor.

 

“What the fuck?”

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to freewillandphysics, diana-prince-s, and i-am-diana for being the most amazing betas!
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!


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